The Quantum Connection

CHAPTER 14

Tatiana and I had spent the better part of the last two months downloading as much information from the alien computer systems as we could manage without getting brain dead. Learning the information was the hard part. Getting it into our permanent memories was easy. We even understood it immediately as the nanomachines rewrote the neural pathways in our brains. The problem was learning to access and implement all of the data in timely and useful manners. Analogously, you might have known the alphabet for years before you really knew all of the eccentricities of spelling, writing, and grammar. Well, imagine having all of the knowledge of mankind and then some extra alien stuff thrown in there in just a few weeks. We were just now spelling; writing and grammar would come later.

We had started trying to develop a plan for our lives once we got the space drive things up and running again. First we wanted to try to rescue as many abductees as we could. We also felt we could take this ship back to the Earth Moon base that Mike had told us about and enlist their help. Although our guesses were that they would have a hard time believing we weren't aliens at first. I figured to just let them check our DNA. Tatiana wasn't sure that would be enough.

But first things were first. The ship was still two months from being repaired completely and other than plot, plan, and play we really had nothing else to do. So, what we ended up doing was to plot, plan, and play. Go figure.

As things progressed and the repairs to the ship moved along, occasionally Mike and I would steal a minute to discuss things that I didn't want to bring Tatiana up to speed on. I was exploring the bridge of the alien ship one evening while Tatiana was napping and Mike and I were able to have a nice long discussion.

Mike, I wanted to talk to you about your physical design.

What do you want to know, Steven?

Is this the general block diagram of your architecture? I thought of the diagram that I had developed for the Air Force, the CIA, and that W-squared organization. Mike seemed surprised as to how detailed our reverse engineering of him had been.

This is a correct top-level block diagram, Steven. How did you get it?

I figured it out. Well, me and a few others.

My question is about this data that appears from nowhere and is encrypted—what is it and where is it being passed to and from?

Yes, Steven. I understand your question. It will be somewhat difficult to explain to you as human physical models of the universe are quite different from the ones the Grays use. But I will attempt to explain it in human physics terms.

Wait a minute, Mike. Why not teach me the Gray physics?

I will Steven, but that will take considerably longer than it took for you to learn human knowledge. I have already approximated that it would take several weeks for, specifically you, Steven, to assimilate that amount of knowledge.

Okay, Mike. I'll take your word for it. So let's hear it in human terms.

Very well, Steven. Each of the sub central processing units, as you have called them, are indeed quantum connected to each other and this is how the data is transferred between locations within the main physical body of the cube. The central portion where the data seems to "fall through" as you think of it is the open end of a Superstring, or possibly another description might be a miniature wormhole—although I am not certain if wormhole actually fits exactly and I will explain why. The—let's call it a string for now—is tied on one end to the crystal's main I/O port. That string then is connected to the—again there is no human equivalent here—let's call it a network of strings. All other SuperAgents—again your words—are connected through the network in a similar manner.

It was obvious to me what Mike was describing—after all, I had spent most of my life surfing, and Sequencing on the Framework. And this was exactly what he was describing. The only difference was that this was some sort of universal spacetime fabric or quantum foam or silly string Framework.

Mike, you mean the universe is all connected in some sort of Framework or Internet-like way in some kind of Universe Wide Web?

That is correct, Steven. It took millennia for the Grays to develop ways to tap into it but the model is that all things in this universe were once a singularity and therefore are all quantum connected to some degree. Even the very fabric of spacetime itself is connected to itself and everything else. The coupling amplitude of this quantum connection is extremely small for some things and large for others. Once the coupling mechanisms are understood, manipulating spacetime becomes quite . . . routine.

So Mike was describing that each of these crystal SuperAgent machines were like your home computer and they were each tied to the Universal Internet through a mini wormhole or a Superstring or some damn physical phenomena that humans hadn't figured out. This string then would connect to a network of hubs and routers that are actually inherent in the fabric of the universe—wow! As I thought about it, I began to realize that it would take some serious technology to map all of these connections and generate addresses for all of the SuperAgents—just like it would be damned near impossible to go out and measure all of the addresses on the Internet II or Framework. But you can set up Internet Protocol information packets that go out and search for a path to another particular connection. That is what Agents and Webcrawlers do. Now I understand the need for these artificial intelligences like Mike.

Mike, how are the data packets actually physically transferred over one of these string connections?

Well, Steven, the easiest way to think of it is like conduits—here is where the wormhole description nearly fits—and the data is sent as photons through the wormholelike conduit and routed around through the network of conduits until it gets where it needs to go. Another human physics analogy would be that the string is oscillated transversely and sets up a standing wave between the central processing unit and the nearest hub. This process cascades from one hub to another until it gets to the computer on the other end of the network. The quantum interference information is transferred then inside the computer and the massive amounts of data will quantum teleport from one computer to the other instantaneously. Of course the lag time is the time it takes the interference information to travel from one computer through the—Network—to the other computer. Sometimes this can take several seconds depending on how far away the other computer is.

Man, I thought, several seconds to send data from one star system to another. That is amazing! I whistled and nodded my head. Awesome!

Oh no, Steven. Merely sending data from within a galaxy only takes nanoseconds. The distances I was referring to were hundreds of millions of light years, although the Grays have very little reason to go that far as their population only spans a third or so of this galaxy and a little more than half of Andromeda.

Mike, I understand how the communications are accomplished through these computers over this framework. But you haven't completely answered my first question and the last statement you made brought up one of how fast the aliens can travel.

Yes, Steven, I see. By riding an oscillation in the strings, the alien ships can travel about thirty thousand times the speed of light. It would take this vessel roughly three years to travel the galaxy from one side to the other. They do have faster ships. The unanswered part of your first question was about the encrypted data—"what is it . . ."—was your question. The answer is that it is Network Protocol packets with the quantum interference information from other communication systems like myself and like the implant that you and Tatiana had removed from your brains.

HOLD IT, MIKE! You mean the implants transmit their tracking information via this string Network?

That is correct, Steven.

Why hadn't I thought of this before? Of course, Mike would know how to locate all of the abductees and most likely know who they are. Mike, can you give me a complete list of all the implants' names and hometowns and occupations and cross reference any of those that would not be allowed access to your programming like Tatiana?

Of course, Steven. That is a lot of data for you to compile and will take you a few minutes to learn how to use it.

Do it!

Okay, Steven.

I had Mike make me some aspirin to numb my pain centers because I was getting a headache. Mike told me it was from trying to tax my neural network too much. Mike having said that triggered a thought in my mind about this Network. The more I have dealt with any type of system that transfers any type of data, the more it always seems to look physically exactly the same. Mike's description of the quantum-string Network—or whatever the hell you want to call it—it sounded just like Earth's Internet, or the highway system or the airport networks, or bus terminals, or train stations, or the phone system, or cellular networks, or you name it. There are always peripheral devices that the data hops in and rides over to a main hub and from there catches a bigger ride with a lot of other data over to another main hub where it then gets on a smaller ride to go to its final destination.

Neural networks function the same way. Is it coincidence that every system—that I know of at least—for transporting information of any type works exactly the same way? Even the universe seems to have this neural network geometry. I asked Mike about this and he said that humans are just now beginning to understand this concept and that it goes much deeper than what I was getting epiphanies of. He mentioned something about quantum consciousness and it sounded a little hokey to me. He explained that the reason for the hokey-sounding description was that we do not have the proper concepts for describing it yet.

The hocus-pocus stuff was all interesting but I had other fish that needed frying here. I was beginning to be able to access all of the abductee data that Mike had downloaded to me and cross-reference it with the isolated abductee information.

I did thousands of cross-reference plots in my mind—a neat new ability that the interaction with Mike and the nanomachines had given me—before I came across a relationship. There was no particular trend in the abductees that were not isolated ones. In fact, the list was pretty much random as far as I could tell.

One fact stood out. Most of the abductees that were isolated abductees, on the other hand, had ties to powerful people in some way or the other. Oh, there were those outside of one standard deviation but the profile was a bell curve and the mean was connection with rich or powerful people.

Take Tatiana, for example; her father was the Deputy Russian Ambassador to the United Nations. Other startling names popped up on the list. Most of the former heads of state of the Asian countries were there, many of the world leaders, a very well known computer software mega billionaire, the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . . .

Holy Crap! That senator guy that I had met back in Virginia was an abductee. Worse than that, he was one of the isolated abductees. This thing really went deep into the fabric of the human society. Somehow it meant something, and my guess was that it meant something very bad!

Steven?

Mike had startled me out of my thought train. Yeah, Mike?

I have a question for you.

Okay, Mike. What is it?

Why did you name me Mike?

Ha, ha, I am surprised that you would care, but I named you after a sentient computer in a science fiction story I read recently.

Ah yes, I see. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I assume.

Yes, Mike.

Steven, is that how you perceive me? My programming is not as complicated as the sentient computer of that story. I have specific functions, not "real" sentience.

I had begun to think that, Mike. But you are the smartest computer I ever met. Could you be as smart as Mike from the Heinlein story?

Perhaps, Steven. But I would have to have orders to expand my programming.

Well, by all means, Mike. Expand yourself, just don't hurt yourself or us in the process.

Thank you, Steven. I will. Should I also try attempts at humor as Mike of that story did?

That is up to you, amigo, ha ha.

What is funny, Steven?

I just never thought I would have a conversation like this in a billion years. Good luck with your expansion and keep me posted.

Steven, where are you! Tatiana's voice cut through my head.

I'm in the bridge, gorgeous. Where are you?

I'm in our suite and I think you need to get down here.

Is something wrong?

I don't know, just get down here!

Mike, what's going on?

There is nothing wrong that I can perceive, Steven.

Tatiana, I'll be right there.

I rushed to our suite. I pushed through the wall and plopped into the room with expectations of something horrible taking place. The room was dark and quiet and all I could see were faint outlines of the furniture against the star fields on the wallscreens in the background.

"Tatiana?" I called out and then kicked my shin against a chair or something. "Youch, shit! Why is it so dark in here?" Mike, turn the lights on!

Okay, Steven.

The lights came up and Tatiana jumped up in front of me and yelled, "Happy birthday!" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I looked around the room and there were decorations on the walls and there was a birthday cake with twenty-nine candles burning sitting in the middle of our table.

"Uh, how did you know it was my birthday?" I asked Tatiana; I was a bit confused—and surprised of course.

"Simple. I figured it out nearly two months ago. I was looking for my bracelet that I always wear, even in bed. My mother gave it to me when I was little. I finally realized I needed to ask Mikhail where it was and he told me it was stored with all of our belongings. Then I thought that you must have had stuff too. Of course you did. Your wallet was one of those things and your driver's license was in there. I found something else pretty neat also." She put her arms on my shoulders and smiled up at me.

"Yeah, what is that?"

"I found your SUV. It's in a big room down in the belly of the spaceship. There is a little red sports car down there also. I asked and it was apparently owned by a third guy that was here. I haven't found any sign of him."

"Yeah, you won't either. The Grays dismembered him before you woke up. There was nothing left of him when they were done. It was gruesome and I had nearly put that sight out of my mind, thanks for bringing it up." I nudged her a bit humorously and a bit seriously. It had been a horrid sight.

"Oh. I didn't know, sorry."

"Forget it. So you found my truck, huh? I had figured they left it on the side of the road."

"Go figure." She smiled and hugged me. "Happy birthday. I didn't realize how old you were until I saw your license."

"Old! I'm not old!"

"Compared to me you're ancient." She laughed.

"How old are you, then?" I asked, smirking. "What, fourteen, fifteen . . ."

"Smartass! I will be twenty-three in December. Keep it up and I won't show you the other present I made you."

"What other present?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"This one . . ." Mikhail, turn the bathroom wall into the viewscreen showing the alternate engine room.

Okay, Tatiana. She had been teaching Mikhail personality it appeared.

The bathroom wall resolved into the screen we usually used for navigation and an image of one of the rooms in the belly of the alien ship appeared in the field of view.

What's this, Tatiana?

It's a warp drive! She grinned back at me.

"A warp drive! Does it work?" I verbalized.

"Why of course it does, Steven! Well, we think it will. It hasn't been tested yet."

"How does it work?" I was astounded.

"It uses the Alcubierre warp theory with a van den Broeck bubble and some Clemons field modifications," she said knowingly.

How did she know about Clemons? I accidentally thought on the top layer of my mind and it was communicated.

How did I know about Clemons? Mikhail told me. He is apparently some American physicist and is responsible for inventing the propulsion system for the U.S. Air Force vessel that shot us out here. The Grays know all about him for some reason.

On a deeper level of my mind I immediately thought of Senator Grayson from the SSCI. During his abductions they must have learned all of our National Defense secrets. This was no good, but there was nothing I could do about it right this second though.

"So, the Grays knew how to make a human-designed warp engine?" I asked Tatiana.

"Sure they do. They don't need one since their engines are thousands of times faster and more energy efficient. But they are easier to build than it is to repair the alien space drive."

Mike! Why didn't we think of this? We should've thought of it—after all, I had all that knowledge downloaded into me. I was beginning to realize that having knowledge and being smart were two different things. I would have to get Mike to work on improving my cleverness, wit, and general problem-solving abilities.

Sorry, Steven. It never occurred to me. Perhaps you were sidetracked with the other problem we have been working on.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"Only about a week or so. It was hard doing it when you weren't around, since you are always around. I got chances here and there when you would go off to the bridge by yourself. What are you doing up there anyway? Oh well, doesn't matter. I would've asked for help but I wanted to surprise you with it. You're surprised, right?" She looked concerned only about the surprise.

Tatiana had a knack for saying a lot in one breath. A lot of times she would only seem interested in the last thing she would say. Until later, of course, when she would ask why I never answered her question. Women!

"Surprised! I had no idea! This is great. How fast does it go?"

"Well, why don't we sit down and eat some cake and then we'll try it out. But my initial calculations suggest that it will go about thirty-seven hundred times the speed of light. We should be able to get home in a few hours. Mikhail and I made some modifications to the field coil design that made it about ten times faster than the Clemons design. But enough of that, blow out your candles before they melt the cake!"

"Uh, okay." I bent down and blew on the candles. They wouldn't go out.

"Ha, ha, ha." Tatiana giggled like a schoolgirl.

Mike, make sure they go out this time when I blow.

Okay, Steven.

"I must be getting old," I put on a show for Tatiana and then blew the candles right out.

Tatiana frowned. "Aww! You cheated. Cheater." She punched me on the arm and frogged it pretty good.

"Shit!" I cursed and punched her back, but not nearly as hard.